Orifice construction



M. NOBLE June 20, 1 939.

ORIFICE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 30, 1936 Fig.2.

INVENTOR. MlL/vs/z NOBLE,

A TTORNEY.

orifices for the passage of fluid, and more parat ened. June 20, 1939 oan-rcr: coNs'rnUcrroN. I r v Milner, Noble, Newark, N. l assignor, by ma iassignments, to Carrier Corporation, Newark, N.. J.,fa corporation ofDelaware V Application June. a, 1936. serial No. 88,109'

" 2 cm (cram-.164).

' I This invention relatesfto the construction of ticularly to the construction of orifices, for supplying fluid to the tubes of heat exchangers. n In the art of heat exchange, it'is common practise to supply a heating orcooling medium to a headerservin'g a plurality of tubes about which thereis circulated a fluid t'o-be heated or cooled. I I

change "system including 'a tubular heat ex- The heating or-.coolinz m i ium is supplied to. the

tubesTfromfthe header: through orifices. After the heating or cooling medium has circulated through the tubes and has been in heat exchange with the fluid to be heated or cooled, it is returned tube.

to'a boiler, refrigeration machine, of the like, to be prepared fora repetition of its heat exchange function.

. In the past, considerable difficulty has been occasioned by clogging and stoppage of the orifices,

by scale and other foreign matter carried tothe "orifices by the heating .or coolingmedium.

The general object of the invention is to provide an improved"oriflce'construction in which clogging and stoppage of the orifice by scale an other foreign matter is greatly reduced.

It is another object of the invention to pro-' vide an orifice construction which will assure uninterrupted supply of fluid to a tube served by the orifice, notwithstanding the carrying to the orifice of particles of material which would completely clog orifices of conventional design.

It is another object of the invention to provide anorifice construction which will assist in the breaking up of scaleand particles of i'oreignflmatter carried thereto, whereby the small particles may readily pass through the orifice and into the tube, without interrupting or interfering with the supply of heat exchange'medium to the It is another object of the invention toprovide an orifice construction which is relatively simple, inexpensive to manufacture, self-cleaning, and highly effective in passing fluid in uninterrupted and substantially uniform flow.-

A feature of the invention resides in the provl-' sion of a member having one or more elements extending from an orifice opening in a direction counter to that of fluid new through the orifice. These elements serve to catch and hold particles of scale and other foreign matter which would clog conventional orifices, and prevent these particles from restricting the flow of fluid through the orifice opening.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a member having a plurality of crown points surrounding an orifice opening, the

invention will be more-apparent from the follow- 5 ing description, to

be read in connection with the V accompanying drawing, in which:

.Flg. '1 represents diagrammatically a heat exchanger; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a portion of j the tubular heatexchanger of 1, illustrating ,an improved orifice construction embodying the invention.

Referring now to'the drawing, similar desig- 16 nations referring to similar parts, I! represents a boiler, refrigerating machine or the'like, in which a conditioning or heat exchange medium is heated or cooled, and ii represents generally a heat exchanger in which the heated or cooled go medium is used for heating or cooling a fluid, such as air or wat l', passed in contact with. the tubes 12. Heated or cooled medium from I0 is passed through supply line H to inlet header ll, whence'it is passed through orificesv generally designated ii 'to the tubes: l2. 'Conditioning medium which has Passed through the tubes I2. is collected in outlet headeri I6 .and returned to l0 through return line H.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2,. the inlet end of each tube I2 is capped by a crown-shaped member, having at .its'lower extremity an an- .nular flanged portion I! which abuts the end of the'tube, and having apluralityofcrownpoints 18a, extending toward the inlet, header.

crown points l8a are preferably, .but not necessarily, of unequal height, and the longer points may extend into the inlet header H. 'An annular recess 20, formed in the tube-receiving portion 2| of the header ll, surrounds the crown points i8a. Preferably, the inside diameter of the annular flanged portion i9 is smaller than the inside diameter of the tube i2, so that the member it provides a somewhat restricted orifice-for the tube. Such restriction is desirable to develop a considerable pressure differential between the inlet and outlet headers, in order to prevent airbinding ofthe'heat exchanger. When tubes having a relatively small inside diameter are used, however, there is a relatively great pressure drop 5 through thetubes, and there is no necessity for providing a restricted inlet opening. In such casefthe separate member I! may be dispensed with, and the crown points may be formed by cutting out portions of the end of the tube.

The 35 uninterrupted supply of fluid to the tube. It

scale or foreign matter is caught upon the crown. points in such manner as to clog the opening at the upper end of member i8, fluid continues to flow to the orifice and tube I! at undiminished rate through the V-shaped weirs between the crown points; and even though some of the weir openings should become clogged, flow through the others would continue to supply fluid to the tube I2. In practise, it has been found that the supply of fiuid to applicant's tubes is practically'never interrupted by-clogging, because of the great number of openings or paths provided for feeding fluid to the tubes, and because ,0: the selfcleaning action of applicant: orifice construction;

While applicant's member II is illustrated and I described as being provided with openings which comprise V-shaped weirs, openings oi! any othershape or type may be utilized without departing from the scope or the invention. Moreover, while the crown points its are shown as being'parailel to the direction of flow through the orifice, the crown points may be inclined convergingly or divergingly; if desired.

Since many modifications may be made in the invention without departing from its scope, applicant intends that the above description and accompanying drawingbe considered as illustrative only, applicant limiting himself only as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An anti-clogging orifice guard comprising a hollow crown-shaped member having a plurality of peripherally arranged crown points of unequal length extending substantially parallel to the direction of fluid fiow through the orifice to be protected and in a direction counter to said direc- P ints.

LULNER NOBLE. 

